[birding] Gray-cheeked Thrush on Marys Peak

[W.Douglas Robinson]

A Gray-cheeked Thrush was near the entrance to the Marys Peak  
campground this morning. It was in the dense young conifers about 50  
yards up the road from the intersection of the campground and the main  
road to the parking lot at the top overlook.

I emphasize that I heard the bird call 9 or 10 times, quite clearly,  
but I was unable to see it, despite trying for 30 minutes. A Hermit  
and a Swainson's Thrush were also near there, but I never could see  
them either. The call is very distinctive, but if you don't know the  
species, you should listen to recordings of Veery and to variations on  
Varied Thrush if you choose to try to find it (in addition, juvenile  
Hermit Thrushes have a somewhat similar call, but it is usually very  
faint and differs in other ways from GCTH).  Re-locating any  
particular Catharus thrush during fall is very challenging, so I wish  
those of you who might want to try, the best of luck.

If it helps, Marys Peak is still quite birdy, so spending time there  
is worthwhile.  And if you like crossbills, there are at least 3 types  
up there now. Types 3 and 4, plus one other I have not yet recorded  
well enough to get a spectrogram on.

have fun
Doug